Please look over our Scandinavian Itinerary
Mar 31st, 2004, 11:24 PM
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Please look over our Scandinavian Itinerary
Hi, we?re from India and my husband and I are heading for Scandinavia for a month this June, and I would really appreciate it if all you wonderful folks would look over our itinerary. Couple of things to keep in mind : Given that Scandinavia is so expensive we have decided to go more ?budget? than usual, that is hostels, some selfcatering and cheaper fares wherever possible. Also we will be buying a 5 day Scanrail Pass which will take care of some long distance journeys as well as provide discounts on some other transport options.
Day 1-5 : Arrive in Stockholm and spend the days around the city. Use a 3 day Stockholm card. May be have time for excursions to Uppsala/Sigtuna or the Dalarna region. Will be staying at a B&B in Gamla Stan. At the end of the 5th day, will be taking the overnight Viking Line ferry to Helsinki.
Day 6 : Arrive Helsinki. Day trip to Tallinn with either Nordic Jet or Tallink. Stay at Eurohostel.
Day 7-11 : Take the Sibelius train from Helsinki to St. Petersburg. Spend the next three days in the city with excursion to Peterhof/Pushkin. Plan to stay at Nord Hostel. On the fourth day, depart by Sibelius arriving Helsinki in the night. Overnight at Eurohostel.
Day 12 : Around Helsinki. Take the night train to Rovaniemi.
Day 13 : Arrive Rovaniemi. Spend the early morning there and then take the Lapland bus to Nordkapp arriving at 10.30pm. See the midnight sun from Nordkapp and return to Honningsvaag for the night. Still trying to tie up accomodation here.
Day 14 : Early morning Wideroe flight from Honningsvaag to Tromso, followed by a flight from Tromso to Bodo. Spend a few hours in Bodo and take the night train to Trondheim.
Day 15 : Arrive Trondheim and look around, esp Nidaros Cathedral. Leave by train at around 4.00pm to Dombas, followed by another train from Dombas to Andalsnes arriving at around 8.00pm. Overnight at Andalsnes Vandrehejm.
Day 16 : Spend the day relaxing in Andalsnes. Take the 5.00 pm bus to Geiranger going the scenic route arriving at 8.00 pm. Overnight at a small cabin with Fossen Camping.
Day 17 : Early morning walk in Geiranger. Then take the ferry to Hellesylt and catch the 2.00pm bus to Grotli, followed by the 4.00pm bus to Otta. Train from Otta to Oslo. Overnight Anker Hostel.
Day 18 : Oslo to Bergen Norway in a Nutshell. Overnight at Nygard Apts Bergen
Day 19 : Bergen. Maybe excursion to Hardangerfiord
Day 20 : Bergen. Overnight train to Oslo
Day 21-22 : Oslo. Stay at Anker Hostel. At end of second day, take the overnight DFDS ferry to Copenhagen.
Day 23 : Arrive Copenhagen and look around. Overnight at Chickens Pension in Christianshavn.
Day 24 : Fly to Kangerlussuaq in Greenland (now you know why the tight budget) and take a drive to the inland ice.
Day 25-27 : Flight to Ilulissat. Spend the next three days around Ilulissat with midnight cruise among the icebergs, boat trip to Eqip Glacier, hikes around the area etc.
Day 28 : Fly back to Copenhagen arriving in the evening. Overnight Chickens Pension.
Day 29 : Copenhagen, maybe excursions to castles/Roskilde. Overnight at Chickens Pension.
Day 30 : Fly back to India
Phew ! Any of you who?ve made it this far, thanks for your patience ! Things I would have loved to squeeze in but for lack of time are Savonlinna in Finland, at least one leg on the Hurtigruten coastal steamer, Arhus and Skagen in Denmark. Then again am not going near so many wonderful places like Pulpit Rock and Lofoten Islands and Bornholm and Visby and......... Plan to return in winter sometime for the Ice Hotel in Kiruna though.
I look forward to all your suggestions/comments. Thank you.
Day 1-5 : Arrive in Stockholm and spend the days around the city. Use a 3 day Stockholm card. May be have time for excursions to Uppsala/Sigtuna or the Dalarna region. Will be staying at a B&B in Gamla Stan. At the end of the 5th day, will be taking the overnight Viking Line ferry to Helsinki.
Day 6 : Arrive Helsinki. Day trip to Tallinn with either Nordic Jet or Tallink. Stay at Eurohostel.
Day 7-11 : Take the Sibelius train from Helsinki to St. Petersburg. Spend the next three days in the city with excursion to Peterhof/Pushkin. Plan to stay at Nord Hostel. On the fourth day, depart by Sibelius arriving Helsinki in the night. Overnight at Eurohostel.
Day 12 : Around Helsinki. Take the night train to Rovaniemi.
Day 13 : Arrive Rovaniemi. Spend the early morning there and then take the Lapland bus to Nordkapp arriving at 10.30pm. See the midnight sun from Nordkapp and return to Honningsvaag for the night. Still trying to tie up accomodation here.
Day 14 : Early morning Wideroe flight from Honningsvaag to Tromso, followed by a flight from Tromso to Bodo. Spend a few hours in Bodo and take the night train to Trondheim.
Day 15 : Arrive Trondheim and look around, esp Nidaros Cathedral. Leave by train at around 4.00pm to Dombas, followed by another train from Dombas to Andalsnes arriving at around 8.00pm. Overnight at Andalsnes Vandrehejm.
Day 16 : Spend the day relaxing in Andalsnes. Take the 5.00 pm bus to Geiranger going the scenic route arriving at 8.00 pm. Overnight at a small cabin with Fossen Camping.
Day 17 : Early morning walk in Geiranger. Then take the ferry to Hellesylt and catch the 2.00pm bus to Grotli, followed by the 4.00pm bus to Otta. Train from Otta to Oslo. Overnight Anker Hostel.
Day 18 : Oslo to Bergen Norway in a Nutshell. Overnight at Nygard Apts Bergen
Day 19 : Bergen. Maybe excursion to Hardangerfiord
Day 20 : Bergen. Overnight train to Oslo
Day 21-22 : Oslo. Stay at Anker Hostel. At end of second day, take the overnight DFDS ferry to Copenhagen.
Day 23 : Arrive Copenhagen and look around. Overnight at Chickens Pension in Christianshavn.
Day 24 : Fly to Kangerlussuaq in Greenland (now you know why the tight budget) and take a drive to the inland ice.
Day 25-27 : Flight to Ilulissat. Spend the next three days around Ilulissat with midnight cruise among the icebergs, boat trip to Eqip Glacier, hikes around the area etc.
Day 28 : Fly back to Copenhagen arriving in the evening. Overnight Chickens Pension.
Day 29 : Copenhagen, maybe excursions to castles/Roskilde. Overnight at Chickens Pension.
Day 30 : Fly back to India
Phew ! Any of you who?ve made it this far, thanks for your patience ! Things I would have loved to squeeze in but for lack of time are Savonlinna in Finland, at least one leg on the Hurtigruten coastal steamer, Arhus and Skagen in Denmark. Then again am not going near so many wonderful places like Pulpit Rock and Lofoten Islands and Bornholm and Visby and......... Plan to return in winter sometime for the Ice Hotel in Kiruna though.
I look forward to all your suggestions/comments. Thank you.
Apr 1st, 2004, 06:25 AM
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This itinerary has obviously been so thoroughly researched that there isn't much else to say. June is a great time to visit Scandinavia as you have the long hours of daylight. The peak holiday season doesn't start till midsummer, so the first half of June is not too busy, which is ideal.
Apr 5th, 2004, 07:52 AM
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You have done wonderful research. I looked over the Norway section as I am from Oslo. You will be busy. Also, Anker is not in the safest location of town but still, oslo is safe city. let me know if you have any more questions about oslo.
Apr 6th, 2004, 01:48 AM
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Thanks all, expected to be overrun with corrections but the vote of confidence helps ! I have made two changes to the above itinerary. Firstly, instead of going from Geiranger to Oslo via Otta dn then returning to the fjords to do the Nutshell the next day, have decided to take the bus from Hellesylt to Bergen which looks like it will be more scenic and does not make me cross back and forth, and then do the nutshell from Bregen to Oslo, this works out cheaper too. Josefine, how does this sound, you're the right person to comment !
Also, now instead of doing Helsinki - Tallinn- Helsinki and then Helsinki-St Petes the next day, am going one way from Helsinki to Tallinn and taking the overnight Eurolines bus to St Petes, again avoiding crossing back and forth.
When you say Anker is not in a safe part of town, what should I expect ? I read a few reviews that said that although the outside of the building looks like a bomb shelter, its very clean and nice from the inside and frankly provides very good value for money and location. Does it mean I should not be out late, watch my belongings or something worse ? Oslo looks wonderful, the whole area looks great and I can't wait to get there.
Thanks for all the help.
Also, now instead of doing Helsinki - Tallinn- Helsinki and then Helsinki-St Petes the next day, am going one way from Helsinki to Tallinn and taking the overnight Eurolines bus to St Petes, again avoiding crossing back and forth.
When you say Anker is not in a safe part of town, what should I expect ? I read a few reviews that said that although the outside of the building looks like a bomb shelter, its very clean and nice from the inside and frankly provides very good value for money and location. Does it mean I should not be out late, watch my belongings or something worse ? Oslo looks wonderful, the whole area looks great and I can't wait to get there.
Thanks for all the help.
Apr 7th, 2004, 02:07 AM
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Hi.
Looks like a great trip, and what Anker concerns, That place may or may not be be the very best location, depending on your needs. I can tell you more on that later. And yes, it is a comfortable place and sure with good value for money.
What I will comment on right now, however, is parts of your Norway route.
Why go to Otta and Oslo to get the nuthshell? Unless rain in the Fjordarea or too many overwhelming sights have made you longing for lighter weather and/or slope (read
ull) hills, you rather should make a shortcut from Geiranger straight down to the Sognefjord area. After all, that's what the Nutshell is all about, not sitting on a train from Oslo for 4.5 hours until the fun starts. And above that, you will not miss anything as you are planning with Bergen-Oslo at a lighter stage. My very very best advice is therefore: Do not double Oslo, and when In Sogn, plan for a one-way Sogn-Bergen-Oslo Nutshell, or arrange the different legs independently.
Getting from Geiranger to Sogn can be done in multiple ways. Either the Stryn-Sogndal direction, which gives you fantastic experiences in the glacier areas. Or via Lom and then over the Sognefjell mountains (Jotunheimen mountains to the east, glacier area to the west) to Turtagro, Luster and Kaupanger, from where you go by ferry to Flam or Gudvangen.
I'd fancy the latter route, as that would give me the opportunity to slurge at Roisheim, a 3-400 year old coach station, now serving as a very very special gourmet restaurant and accomodation.
I wish you a marvellous trip.
Bjorn, Oslo
Looks like a great trip, and what Anker concerns, That place may or may not be be the very best location, depending on your needs. I can tell you more on that later. And yes, it is a comfortable place and sure with good value for money.
What I will comment on right now, however, is parts of your Norway route.
Why go to Otta and Oslo to get the nuthshell? Unless rain in the Fjordarea or too many overwhelming sights have made you longing for lighter weather and/or slope (read
ull) hills, you rather should make a shortcut from Geiranger straight down to the Sognefjord area. After all, that's what the Nutshell is all about, not sitting on a train from Oslo for 4.5 hours until the fun starts. And above that, you will not miss anything as you are planning with Bergen-Oslo at a lighter stage. My very very best advice is therefore: Do not double Oslo, and when In Sogn, plan for a one-way Sogn-Bergen-Oslo Nutshell, or arrange the different legs independently.Getting from Geiranger to Sogn can be done in multiple ways. Either the Stryn-Sogndal direction, which gives you fantastic experiences in the glacier areas. Or via Lom and then over the Sognefjell mountains (Jotunheimen mountains to the east, glacier area to the west) to Turtagro, Luster and Kaupanger, from where you go by ferry to Flam or Gudvangen.
I'd fancy the latter route, as that would give me the opportunity to slurge at Roisheim, a 3-400 year old coach station, now serving as a very very special gourmet restaurant and accomodation.
I wish you a marvellous trip.
Bjorn, Oslo
Apr 16th, 2004, 04:17 AM
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Hey, sorry for not replying earlier, we are in a bit of flux as we are moving house.
Bjorn, I can't tell you how much your ok means to me, a lot of the "research" referred to by the others above consists of your excellent advice to everyone else on this forum.I was not happy doubling over Oslo either and hence decided to change things around and hopefully it will make for a great experience. I can't wait to get there ! How great it must be to be able to access all that wonderful outdoors at any time.
Surfer Girl, I would love to add days not just for Trondheim but for all the other places I will not see at all. My single biggest regret is not being able to do anything on the Hurtigruten, but I guess that just gives me a reason to go back someday !!
Will not renege on my word, look out for a trip report in July !
Thanks again everyone.
Bjorn, I can't tell you how much your ok means to me, a lot of the "research" referred to by the others above consists of your excellent advice to everyone else on this forum.I was not happy doubling over Oslo either and hence decided to change things around and hopefully it will make for a great experience. I can't wait to get there ! How great it must be to be able to access all that wonderful outdoors at any time.
Surfer Girl, I would love to add days not just for Trondheim but for all the other places I will not see at all. My single biggest regret is not being able to do anything on the Hurtigruten, but I guess that just gives me a reason to go back someday !!
Will not renege on my word, look out for a trip report in July !
Thanks again everyone.
